whale English · revision 10663

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 893|origins=ang hwæl}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /weɪl/, /hweɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|hwæl]] (before 899, in Alfred's Orosius),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|gem-pro|*hwalaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with Old Saxon hwal, Dutch walvis, German Wal, Walfisch, and Old Norse hvalr;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Barnhart derives it from an Indo-European word for a large sea fish,^(Barnhart 1988) and Merriam-Webster compares Latin squalus, a sea fish.^(MWU 2024) The modern form continues the oblique cases of Old English hwæl.^(Hoad 1986) [[walrus]] contains the same word.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Any of the larger fish-like marine mammals: about 893.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) In Old English it could also mean a walrus.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In popular use it was applied to any large sea animal,^(Etymonline) and since Old English to the great fish that swallowed Jonah (about 950).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to hunt whales, is from about 1700,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and whale-fishing from the 1570s.^(Etymonline) ''Whale oil'' is from the mid-15th century and ''whaleboat'' by 1756.^(Etymonline) ''A whale of a'', an excellent or large example of something, is student slang by about 1900.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – the sea mammal.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 950 – Jonah's whale.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – whale oil.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1700 – to whale (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1900 – a whale of a time.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very large [[marine]] [[mammal]] of the order Cetacea, with flippers, a flat horizontal tail and a blowhole.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Something very large or impressive: ''a whale of a time''.^(Etymonline)^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hunt whales.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[whalelike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[narwhal]]

+ * [[rorqual]]

+ * [[walrus]]

+ * [[whalebone]]

+ * [[whaler]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate colloquial verb whale, to beat or thrash (1790), is possibly a variant of [[wale]], to mark with stripes;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster calls it of unknown origin.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}